State Department Has a Horse in Oscar Race

Government Project Supplied Funding for 'Buzkashi Boys,' First Movie Shot in Afghanistan to Get an Academy Nomination

By

Dion Nissenbaum

Updated Feb. 21, 2013 12:01 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—American director Sam French helped make history this year when his film "Buzkashi Boys" became the first movie shot in Afghanistan to receive an Oscar nomination.

But the 29-minute film holds another unusual distinction: It was funded almost entirely out of a $150 million State Department campaign to combat extremism, support Afghan media and burnish the U.S. image in Afghanistan.